The Worst Day
by kytyngurl2
Summary: A young turtle's life is changed forever one day, and not for the better.


A/N: I'm hitting a bit of a snag over at my longer fic 'Inevitable', so here is a bit of a bunny that bit me just the other night, while I was playing around on Youtube of all things. Hope everyone enjoys!

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The worst day of his life had been the day when his father had dragged this large box down to their home and somehow connected it to the brick wall on the far side of the main room. The vaguely metallic box had looked awkward-- fake wooden paneling on the sides, matte black on the top, and a shiny grey surface at its very front. He and his brothers had stared at it as the mutant rat hooked it up-- very confused,--for several minutes when suddenly their father had pressed in this funny red square on the right side and something very strange happened.

There was light. There was sound. There were these disturbing images too.

Now, of course he had seen humans before... in the illustrations of their father's books, that was. But never like this. Talking, laughing, smiling, frowning, yelling, walking around, eating food, and even getting into fights. They were there, they were _real_ and--

Just like him and his brothers. More or less.

Before that day, it was only intellectually that he had known there were other beings in the world. Back then, his universe was made up solely of his brothers, his father, and the dumb rats and other strange creatures of the sewer tunnels around them. He had been told that other living things-- _many_ other living things-- lived in the bright realm above him, but he had never seen them. Or the world they dwelt in. They weren't _real_.

The turtles weren't allowed yet, and while he was pretty tempted to test this particular rule... the horror stories the young child had heard were enough to keep him safe and sound in the Lair for the time being. Where--

Where he belonged?

Anyways, the humans sure looked weird! Large, greasy, pink like newborn rats, fuzz all over them, with too many fingers and toes and all these weirdo protrusions from their faces. They looked like the monkeys in father's encyclopedia but with weirder fur and behavior just like him and his family. In fact, he had listened to them on that box just the a few days ago-- they were having this argument. Nothing too big, but it was _just_ like the one he had with his brother the other day, that one about the bathroom and whose turn it was to clean it. Word for word.

The young turtle hadn't realized that people other than them could have conversations-- or screaming matches-- like that. What was worse was the end. For at the end, a bigger human had come out and gave them a talking to. Just like their father did.

It was disturbing.

Worse were the things all of his family began to see the humans doing. For it seemed that-- as gross as they looked-- humans got to do all sorts of interesting stuff. He and his brothers watched as they got to go to some place called 'school' where apparently they got to learn all sorts of practical lessons, play with other children, become cool, and attempt some sort of coveted ritual known as 'kissing'. They had also pondered the meaning of 'vacation'-- which seemed to lead to fantasy realms that none of them had never seen before. White ground, tall sticks with green stuff at the top-- wait, trees-- they were called _trees_, and somehow being so high up you could see everything around you. That part looked kind of scary though, so wide and open.

That wasn't it though, not by far. The things the humans did, seemingly on a near daily basis-- Well, it was nothing like his life. Nothing.

One of his brothers had asked their father about it yesterday, had wondered why they couldn't do such things, when would they would get their chance, and how could he meet those funny-looking but interesting people. His brother had been curious, yes... but also had this longing look in his eyes that the young turtle was sure he shared as well. They all had it.

Before that box came, none of them never had any real sort of idea about the 'outside world'. Just pictures and words. Before that box came, they were the sole living and true things in the universe. Before that box came, they had the perfect life with everything they needed.

Now they knew they didn't have Racer Jet Bikes, school, Fruit Roll-ups, trips to the Mall, Bubble-yum, vacations, video games, and those 'tampon' things they never were able to quite figure out. Now they knew they had nothing... and those flickering evil beings on the box somehow seemed to have it -all-. Or at least they lived a life that while disturbingly like theirs, was nothing like it at the same time.

Their father had given his brother a sad look after being asked that horrible desperate string of questions. The aged rat had then said something-- he barely recalled what now. Something about danger, risk to family, having all they needed, and love getting them through it all.

Before that box came, maybe that would have been enough. But now it was all different. Nothing would ever be the same again. They were different now.

The worst day of his life had been the one that hated device came. Because, now...

Now he knew he was a freak.


End file.
